Petty Vents

[CarolPa]

I just took some trash out, the top of the dumpster is at chin level to me. I just cannot lift things that are 40-50 lbs up to shoulder height anymore without pain.

PF, I can't lift 40-50 lbs to knee level! Not because of pain, just because of loss of strength. I have trouble with a gallon of milk, especially when it's full. I want to start buying half gallons but DH said they cost more that way. @@@ Instead, we end up dumping some out because we don't use enough to be using the whole gallon.

 

[CarolPa]

Addie - How many years ago did you have your heart surgery? Mine was in 2008 and my sternum healed well. I have no problem with it at all. I have heard of other people who do, though.

Vacuuming was on my list of things I was not permitted to do after my surgery, so DH took it up. That was only supposed to be during my recovery period, but 6 years later he's still doing it. Now that he's sick I've been doing it, and I had to ask him how to empty it. Last time I did it we still used bags. LOL

 

[Addie]

Love my Roomba! Addie, not sure what you mean by "upkeep" of the machine. Mine has been running 5 days a week vacuuming at least 2000 sq ft., since I got it (Christmas 2012). I have yet to even change the edge brushes (it comes with extras). Just dump the dust collector every few days and clean the brushes periodically(I've done it once) Mind you, it is only cleaning hardwood and tile right now, but the first year I did have a 5x7 area rug in the living room (still no issues). The biggest issue is that you must keep small items off the floor. Sometimes it bumps things a little hard
(I have a telephone table with a shelf about 8 inches off the floor, I had a "yellow pages" book on that shelf it got bumped off and run over a few times several pages were partially "eaten", lol! We have Ekornes Stressless chairs with foot stools, we move the foot stools up on to the chairs every couple of days, so "Rosie" can vacuum under them (we often eat in the LR "gasp"! View attachment 21116
"Rosie's" home.

Thanks, you just answered all my questions about her. Love your name for her. (The Jetsons) When I was looking at them in Amazon, I noticed all the parts that you could replace if and when they broke down. That was what I was questioning.

I will have to pickup the wastebaskets. I can just see them being tipped over and all the contents being dumped out. I will have to also put my scooter in the bathroom. Even though it doesn't come right down to the floor, it is still low enough that it might get caught under there. Looking around my room, I don't see any other problem it might have.

 

[cave76]

I want to start buying half gallons but DH said they cost more that way. @@@ Instead, we end up dumping some out because we don't use enough to be using the whole gallon.

Could you start buying the gallons and then use what MIGHT be left over in a recipe? There are many recipes that use milk, like chicken baked in milk or many yummy desserts like rice or tapioca pudding. (Those aren't the only ones, of course)

That might be one way around it but it would mean more work on your part.

 

[Addie]

Addie - How many years ago did you have your heart surgery? Mine was in 2008 and my sternum healed well. I have no problem with it at all. I have heard of other people who do, though.

Vacuuming was on my list of things I was not permitted to do after my surgery, so DH took it up. That was only supposed to be during my recovery period, but 6 years later he's still doing it. Now that he's sick I've been doing it, and I had to ask him how to empty it. Last time I did it we still used bags. LOL

It has been 11 years since my surgery. I was back at work during my fourth week. I was going out of my mind "resting." So I went back without letting the doctor know until I saw him after my eighth week. I am every doctor's worst nightmare. I do not have the patience to be sick.

 

[tinlizzie]

I am sooooooo tired of struggling to open things. I just wish I had back all the time I've wasted trying to open the packaging of the thing I just bought. Curses on whoever contaminated the first item, leading to the hermetical sealing of any and everything since.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I am sooooooo tired of struggling to open things. I just wish I had back all the time I've wasted trying to open the packaging of the thing I just bought. Curses on whoever contaminated the first item, leading to the hermetical sealing of any and everything since.

I agree about packaging. I understand about making things harder for shoplifters and tamperers, but I would like to be able to get into the darned thing, without injury, once I get it home.

 

[taxlady]

I am sooooooo tired of struggling to open things. I just wish I had back all the time I've wasted trying to open the packaging of the thing I just bought. Curses on whoever contaminated the first item, leading to the hermetical sealing of any and everything since.

I hear ya.

And then there is the stuff in hard, tough plastic that defies scissors.

 

[cave76]

I am sooooooo tired of struggling to open things. I just wish I had back all the time I've wasted trying to open the packaging of the thing I just bought. Curses on whoever contaminated the first item, leading to the hermetical sealing of any and everything since.

I hear ya!

"The case remains unsolved and no suspects have been charged. A $100,000 reward offered by Johnson & Johnson, McNeil's parent company, for the capture and conviction of the "Tylenol Killer" has never been claimed."

And just think of all the plastics manufacturers who have profited from that!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

A few simple, inexpensive tools will suffice to open all packages.

1. Aviation Snips (Snips | MSCDirect.com
2. Kitchen Shears (https://www.gfs.com/files/pdf/gms/Professional_Cutlery_and_Utensil_Collections_POS.pdf)
Scroll down and look on the right hands collumn.

3. Sharp, locking folding knife (https://www.google.com/search?q=bok...rescue_knife_glassbreaker_327145.html;350;350)
With this knife, you also get a seat belt cutter, and a car window breaker.

4. Husband, son, or handyman.

If you have these four items, you can open any container around. I have all four, me being number four on the list. DW has no problem getting packages open, nor do I, except for a jar of caramel that's been sitting in the fridge a while. Even with the application of hot water, and a gar opener, I can't seem to get the lid off. Maybe i'll just get a new jar of caramel.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
https://www.gfs.com/files/pdf/gms/Professional_Cutlery_and_Utensil_Collections_POS.pdf

 

[taxlady]

Well, scissors and a utility knife will usually do it. But, it can be a battle and one risks injury.

For opening jars, I put a fat elastic on the lid. If it still argues with me, I put another one on the jar. When I worked in hospitals in the '70s, I learned that trick. We would use a rubber hose, the kind used to cut off blood flow when drawing blood, to open bottles.

 

[cave76]

Here's one of the things I use:

Of course you'd need Chief to attach it to the bottom of the cabinet for you first

 

[Andy M.]

When a jar is hard to open, the first thing I do is turn it over and gently but firmly tap the top on the countertop. That usually does the trick.

Yesterday I opened a jar that had such a good vacuum seal that, even after I had unscrewed it, the vacuum was still holding the lid on so I had to pry the edge up until the pressure released.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...Curses on whoever contaminated the first item, leading to the hermetical sealing of any and everything since.

I find myself uttering that curse often. Especially when it involves something like a bottle of pain reliever that has a foil protector glued over the top of the bottle...which had a shrink-wrapped band securing the lid to the bottle...which was sold in a sealed carton. ARG!!!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

When a jar is hard to open, the first thing I do is turn it over and gently but firmly tap the top on the countertop...

I do that too, but I also hold the jar with a kitchen towel, just in case the glass jar decides to break. My aunt had an incident with glass breaking and giving her an ugly gash in her palm.

I also tap-tap someone other than the counter since our builder used cheap-a$$ formica in the house. I usually open the door to the garage and whack the jar lid on the handrail of the platform just outside our door.

 

[GotGarlic]

When a jar is hard to open, the first thing I do is turn it over and gently but firmly tap the top on the countertop. That usually does the trick.

I use a bottle opener as a lever between the rim and the lid to open a jar. If that doesn't work, I run hot water over the which causes it to expand, breaking the vacuum seal.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Lately I hand it to Shrek, he struggles with it and hands it back. Then I can get the lid off. I think Lehman's has a jar opener that will work for my.

I learned the other day I could no longer cross my fingers, arthritis is really gaining a hold.

 

[taxlady]

Lately I hand it to Shrek, he struggles with it and hands it back. Then I can get the lid off. I think Lehman's has a jar opener that will work for my.

I learned the other day I could no longer cross my fingers, arthritis is really gaining a hold.

Sorry to hear about the arthritis.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thanks, I've been using a stress ball to limber them up more. Biofreeze gel helps a lot.

 

[CarolPa]

I have had a hard time opening jars for years and now lately I have trouble lifting the little tab on lift top cans, like soda cans, and now they are putting them on other cans like soup. I put the tip of a knife under it and lift, then it's sticking up high enough that I can get a grip on it. I know, I'm dangerous with a knife in my hand. My fingers don't hurt, they just don't work anymore.
'
When I was very young, there was an elderly man who lived next door and he always had a little rubber ball in his hand, squeezing it. I wanted that ball. Now I realize what he was using it for.